The Master may be Joaquin Phoenix’s comeback film after his journey off the deep end, but the star was a no-show at the press conference yesterday. Producer Harvey Weinstein joked that Phoenix was stuck in a “Jesus-saves parade,” but writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s more plausible explanation was that Joaquin is “too unpredictable” to be put in front of reporters. With Phillip Seymour Hoffman also absent (he was at the Venice film fest), Anderson was joined by star Amy Adams and producer JoAnne Sellar to field questions about the highly lauded film. The Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood director winced at a description of his “near-legendary status” and talked about balancing the on-screen tension between Hoffman and Phoenix (“They’re both really strong hitters, but they’re also team players”). He also said he drew inspiration from Hollywood pictures of the 1950s: “I keep TCM on around the house 24 hours a day. It soaks into my veins and washes over me.…My kids watch it.” Adams, however, offered an alternative parental programming strategy, saying, “I make my kids watch The Wiggles.”